Madhya Pradesh: In a shocking incident reported from the tribal areas of Madhya Pradesh, a 3-month-old baby girl was poked 51 times with a hot iron rod by a quack. The child was suffering from pneumonia and was reportedly poked as a treatment for the same.
Child died 15 days later due to breathing issues
The horrifying incident took place in a tribal-dominated area in Shahdol district. The baby died in a hospital after 15 days due to breathing difficulties. Her body, which was buried, will be taken out for postmortem, which will take place on Saturday, said officials.
Such practices of treating people through poking with a hot iron rod are very common in the tribal areas of Madhya Pradesh.
Civic officials condemn the act of blind faith
"When the women and child development officials reached the hospital, they found that the shocking case of blind faith took place 15 days ago and the child was not treated for pneumonia which deteriorated her condition", Shahdol Collector Vandana Vaidh said.
"A local Anganwadi worker counselled her mother and requested her not to poke the child with a hot rod," Vaidh added.
Political leaders show concern to issue
Dr Vikrant Bhuria, doctor and President of Youth Congress, said, "Being poked with bars can lead to death, it's a way to subside the pain, but the problem is that the infection can supersede which can result in death."
"Such practices are still prevalent and I request the Chief Medical Officer of the area to register a complaint and take strict action," BJP spokesperson Dr Hitesh Vajpayee said.
(To receive our E-paper on WhatsApp daily, please click here. To receive it on Telegram, please click here. We permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)
